The Ryoji Family
Introduction The Ryoji family history had their roots started in the days of the old, the days of samurai and bushido when they ran rampant throughout the lands of feudal japan. These were the days of old, and key times in Japanese folk lore that spawned countless legends, villains, warlords, and most of all heroes. The age of heroes was one that spanned not only the current generations of the planet earth, but various places in the world. The Ryoji family is not as brash and bold as others; in fact they are knowingly few in number, especially in the modern times. Their history is one not for the literally sense. To begin one must believe in the impossible and believe in fables and folklores. If one does, not then this tale may not reach all ears, but it shall be told. It all starts with Samanosuke Ryoji. The Legend Of Goemon As a child, Samanosuke entire family was assassinated for political reasons. These reasons were unknown even to him. His mother sent Samanosuke away for safety minutes before he witnessed her death. Running away with his caretaker, they were attacked by bandits but he was saved by the great Nobunaga Oda in his early days. Samanosuke followed Nobunaga and Hattori Hanzō was assigned to train him in the ways of the shinobi (ninja) along with his martial brother, Saizō After many years of training, Samonosuke was assigned to protect Oda's niece, Princess Chacha. They developed feelings for each other, but status differences kept them apart and eventually she departed. Before leaving, Chacha gave him her favorite fan as a memento. Oda rewarded Samanosuke's faithful protection of Chacha by giving him his double-bladed sword. Meanwhile, Oda's generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide conspired to kill Nobunaga. At this time Nobunaga, had the Tasanagi’s under his belt, as a part of his main militia, which only aided the suspicion. The two made a secret written covenant, placing their signatures onto a black scroll. Mitsuhide, not trusting Hideyoshi, had his men hide the contract. Nobunaga however, was much smarter than he was given credit for; as such the great wars began as Lord Oda Nobunaga began his reign throughout the lands of ancient Japan. Lord Oda Nobunaga took it to his own accord to hire these rowdy men and women and make them apart of his family. It was said that the Tasanagi's and the Oda's had a blood connection that dated back to the far days when the earth was still new and fresh, and the Shinto God's still owned this world as their own. The Tasanagi clan had been boasted to nobility but there rough rowdy nature made them extremely unlikely along other nobles. No one truly wanted to deal with the wild bunch of bandits. Soon, Nobunaga no longer needed the help of the Tasanagi's and had exterminated the clan of fear that they would one day take over everything he's created thus far. This extermination was swift, to which Samonosuke was not only a part of, but he was so trusted by Nobunaga, that he was put as the head of the operation. However With his powerful Demon Warriors gone, Lord Oda Noubnaga was soon defeated because of his actions of getting rid of his rough power house clan. Leaving Samanosuke feeling empty. As if all his actions had been for naught, for nothing, forgotten and useless beyond all reasoning. It was then, the Ryoji decided to go his own way, find his own path, and maybe try to find a life worth living without violence. Leaving the princess behind as well and his adopted brother for a life of women, leisure, and laziness. So he thought. 'A New Path' Years later, Samanosuke put his skills to above and beyond, mastering his ability as a ninja and innovating his own abilities at a higher rate that had been seen in years. He became a master thief and something of a Robin Hood. Often stealing from only the richest of the rich, and giving to those who weren’t being treated fairly by the ruler at the time. Samanosuke, was loved by all, and the people did not betray. They held in him regard, and loved him, often letting him shack in their homes, and foniricarte with their daughters. However, Sarutobi Sasuke (Gori), an inexperienced bounty hunter, tried to arrest Samanosuke, but failed and became his private servant instead. Sarutobi remarked that in all his years a as a bounty hunter, he’d never been defeated so swiftly, as Samanosuke defeated the man with both hands and feet tied together, with only a kunai in his mouth. This was no small feat, as Sarutobi Sasuke was renowned for his skills as an armed and unarmed combatant, often displaying skill that rivaled demons. During a festival, Samanosuke infiltrated and robbed a treasure repository that contained a mysterious box with foreign writing on it. Ishida Mitsunari, a high-ranking samurai under Lord Hideyoshi, tried to retrieve this box to destroy it, but Samanosuke escaped with it, leaving behind only his calling card: a red sticker with the Japanese character "Ryo" on it. Samanosuke, unaware of the value of the box, threw it away and distributed the gold to the poor. A young pick-pocket, Koheita, picked up the mysterious box and kept it as a memento. The following day, Samanosuke learned of the box's value from Sasuke. Intrigued by the box, Samanosuke returned to the city to find it. Searching around the slums for the box, Samanosuke heard a scream and finds Koheita and his mother, who had just been callously murdered by cruel royal samurai. The battle was much longer than expected, but Samanosuke saved Koheita and retrieved the box, but also took Koheita under his wing. It was during this fight, that Samanosuke discovered what his inner energy or “chi” could really do. He often felt full of it but rarely practiced the usage of it, not as dependent on it as he’d like to be. 'The Mystery Of Pandora' Saizo and his ninja squad, working for Mitsunari, appeared and confronted Samanosuke. Refusing to turn over the box, Samanosuke fled and was pursued by Saizo's ninjas. Samanosuke evaded all of his pursuers except Saizo, who remained close behind him. In a showdown between the former brothers, Saizo informed him that the box Samanosuke carried was referred to as a "Pandora's Box" by foreigners, and the two engaged in a duel. This is when Samonosuke truly learned the effects of chi, as his brother actual accelled in its usage. After what could only be described as a showdown for the ages, the two brothers fought for 7 days and 8 nights. Saizo admitted, even though his brothers was ignorant to the ways of chi, that he caught on inhumanly quickly and managed to fight on par with someone who clearly outmatched him, though he quickly grew annoyed by the fact that his brothers supply of chi was seemingly endless to say the least. After Samanosuke was overpowered and about to be killed by Saizo, Hattori Hanzo appeared and intervened, causing Saizo to withdraw. After returning to the city, Samanosuke examined the "empty box" and discovered a map to a mysterious treasure. Following the map, Samanosuke and Sasuke were led to the destroyed Buddha statue where Akechi Mitsuhide had hidden his contract with Hideyoshi. Samanosuke became angry once he learned that Hideyoshi was involved with Nobunaga's death also after finding out…that he too was at the time a “Tasanagi”. Hattori Hanzo then reappeared, under the command of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hanzo offered his old student a bag of gold for the contract, which Samanosuke readily agrees to. Seeking vengeance for his murdered lord, Samanosuke infiltrated Lord Hideyoshi's castle, where he killed Lord Hideyoshi and discovered Princess Chacha. Startled by another person entering, Samanosuke hid himself in the ceiling of Chacha's room, losing Chacha's fan as he did so. To Samanosuke's surprise, the real Hideyoshi entered the room. Samanosuke had only killed his fake double made from pure dark chi, a technique recorded as the “Advanced Shadow Sweep”. Suddenly, one of Lord Hideyoshi's guards discovered Samanosuke and shot him in the chest, blowing him out of the castle and into the moat. Later, Samanosuke was secretly rescued and recovered by his brother Saizo. 'Proposal' Samanosuke was then contacted by Hanzo, who took him to a waterfall to meet Chacha. The princess had come to bid him farewell and returned the fan as she had reluctantly agreed to become Hideyoshi's concubine. Afterwards, Lord Tokugawa arrived to ask Samanosuke to assassinate Hideyoshi in order to save Chacha and the country. Elsewhere, Lord Mitsunari offered Saizo samurai status in return for killing Lord Hideyoshi. Samanosuke and Lord Tokugawa crafted a plan to assassinate Lord Hideyoshi during a celebration on his royal boat, but upon receiving his secret signal, Samanosuke changed his mind and did not complete the plan. Moments later, Lord Hideyoshi’s entire escort ships were destroyed by explosives set by Saizo and his team; they captured Lord Hideyoshi and tried to assassinate him by hanging him from the ship's mast with a steel chain. Lord Mitsunari, believing Lord Hideyoshi to be dead, then turned on Saizo and shot him. However, Lord Hideyoshi survived the assassination attempt and Saizo survived the gunshot wound. Lord Hideyoshi, unaware of Lord Mitsunari's betrayal, interrogated Saizo and threatened to kill Saizo's family unless he revealed who hired him. Meanwhile, Samanosuke tried to rescue Chacha, but because Lord Hideyoshi was still alive, she refused to leave. Later, against Sasuke's warnings, Samanosuke rescued Saizo from prison. Unfortunately, Lord Mitsunari killed Saizo's wife in reprisal and left a note on her body telling Saizo he had taken Saizo's child. Saizo was later recaptured and Lord Hideyoshi decreed Saizo should be boiled to death during an elaborate public execution. Hideyoshi told Saizo he would spare his child's life if he would reveal his name so he falsely identified himself as Samanosuke. Yelling in the huge crowd, Samanosuke tried to stop the execution but he could only watch in horror as Lord Hideyoshi kicked Saizo into the cauldron and then threw in the child. Sasuke, in shock over all of the carnage, blamed on Samanosuke and abandoned him. 'Fate' Samanosuke went through a trial of depression unaware of anything he could do to make a difference. It was then, that he was blinded by a bright light, and transported to a room where the water met the sky, and the moon shined high. He was approached by a man riding upon the clouds. He was a husky and muscular man, with silver samurai armor, and a sword at his hip. It was none other than the Shinto god Hachiman, the god of war. Hachiman had approached Samanosuke and forewarned him to be careful of his future trials, as his death may come quick. Samansouke however, had reached the resolve to kill the emperor, and save the rest of japan. He wanted to be more than what he was. He wanted the power to not only slay demons, but also to change the ways of men using his body as a vessel,. A way for a lowly human being to combat not only evil, but any necessary malice, that would affect the world. Hachiman respected the young noble, and blessed not only him, but his future generations with the power to do just that, but this was a double edged sword. Human will was evident, and that being said, one of with the power of, what Hachiman dubbed. “Koikonjitto”’s or chi conduits, can become great catalyst of prosperity or destruction. It was then Samanosuke woke up and decided what he needed to do and how he needed to do it, with a clarity he’d never encountered before…he decided to plan it out…taking about 10 years to do it. 'Execution' The wait being over, With the help of Saizo's surviving team , Samanosuke stormed through the palace in a battle known only as the “Raid “and eventually reached Lord Hideyoshi. Samanosuke eventually disbanded the team, chi fueling his body as tackled the masses of the imperial guards by his lonesome, fighting hundreds of men with his new found abilities and traps that he had taken all ten of his y ears to infiltrate the emperors castle and plant over time in specific areas he himself knew he’d be fighting in.Samanosuke wanted to know why Lord Hideyoshi had betrayed Lord Nobunaga. Hideyoshi explained it was his insatiable hunger for power that had driven him. His words were “My family name was forever banished, by the great Oda Nobunaga…our royal status was squandered because of our nature…who he to judge was. He pillaged and rummaged as much as we did, and we’re to blame. The Tasanangi’s are a name to be feared and respected. Weather my brother clansman feels the same or not, does not matter to me. I rule all, I am everything!” Fought the emperor with all he had, even managing to wound the man with a permanent scar across his chest, but the Power of Tasanagi rained absolute. His experience and demonic essence of will was too much for Samanosuke and he was defeated, cast out yet again into the void of the world with another wound mentally and emotionally. However it was during this time another man had been planning something with malice in his hears towards the emperor as well. Kiken Tasanagi, spawned an army and with that army he stormed the rest of Hideyoshi’s forces and inevitably killed him in cold blood, apparently for the heart of the emperor’s young wife. What happened after that was a story for another day. With Hideyoshi dead, there was a power vacuum that the strongest fought for. Tokugawa and Mitsunari raised their own armies to decide who would be the next ruler of Japan; but Samanosuke, tired of all the deaths and suffering, decided to intervene.Samanosuke charged into the battle, wearing Lord Nobunaga's armor and carrying the repaired double-bladed sword. The armies were fearful and confused as they saw the crimson armor of Nobunaga. Samanosuke fought through the armies until he confronted and killed Mitsunari during a solar eclipse. Superstitious over the eclipse, Mitsunari's army fled in fear. Samanosuke then charged through Tokugawa's army, but Hattori Hanzo appeared and intercepted him mid-way. Samanosuke immobilized his former master by pinning Hanzo's foot to the ground with a broken sword blade. Approaching Tokugawa, Samanosuke closed the distance seemingly with apparent intent to kill, but was intercepted by Sasuke (who had joined Tokugawa's army). Mortally wounded by Sasuke, Samanosuke staggered and it was revealed that he was only holding Chacha's fan; instead of trying to kill Tokugawa, Samanosuke only planned to get him to promise that there would finally be peace and then leave. Samanosuke tries to make his way back to Chacha, but falls to the ground from his wounds. In his final moments, he admires the fireflies and stars while Chacha cries, never to see Samanosuke again. Samanosuke Ryoji’s legend went down in history, but his friend sasuke did not want his furture generation to be burdened, or harassed for their actions. As such, Sasuke arranged the tale, to become the popular folk tale known as “The Legend of Goemon.” Jubei Yagyu: Demon Slayer of The East Very little is known about the actual life of Ryoji Mitsuyoshi as the official records of his life are very sparse. His father, Taka Ryoji Mitsuyoshi grew up in his family's ancestral lands, Ryoji no Sato, now in Nara. He was the son of Ryoji Tajima, master swordsman of the Tokugawa Shoguns, especially Ieyasu and Tokugawa Iemitsu, who prized Ryoji as one of his top counselors. Taka fought for the first Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, at the Battle of Sekigahara, expanding the Shogun's territory, and became a renown slayer of demons and demonic forces and mortal men. For his efforts, Taka was made the Shogun's sword instructor and a minor daimyo or provincial ruler. Taka would go on to train three successive Shoguns: Ieyasu, Hidetada, and utaku. Another one of her special talants was her ability to slay any form of demon that she came across. During the experiments left behind by Kiken Tasanagi who at this point was a rumored myth, demon’s and various oni and oni based creatures were making their way from yami, the realm of dark Hadou, and roaming amok. Taka’s lineage as a Koikonjitto was kept secretive, but from what people could gather he was in better conditioning than the finest samurai, and had supernatural ability to use chi, fighting off high tier demons with skill and finesse, along with special tools he’d had forged by the fire god Kojin to combat unholy forces. His most famous defeat, was that of Sakio, the Iron Oni, a mountain sized oni, whom he’d battled with for 24 hours before finally outmatching the demon through tenacity and will power, slaying it in cold blood and preserving the pace of the fuedel era for years. Though people knew of his existence, many offed this as a act of mother nature, or the planet fighting back. 'Enter Mitsuyoshi' In 1616, Mitsuyoshi became an attendant in the court of the second Tokugawa Shōgun, Tokugawa Hidetada and became a sword instructor for the third Tokugawa Shōgun, Mitsuyoshi, occasionally filling his father's role and passing on the art of demon slaying. His father taught him the ins and outs, of demons and oni’s alike, and how even human beings have the means to combat what is above them, if they have the courage to do so. He and his father often took trips to continue their demons laying journeys far and wide across the land, inevitably forming a tall tale of a duo who went around preforming good deeds throughout the land. The Ryoji’s with a now dead mother, and wife, wonder the lands. The both of them remarrying, over time the clan grew phosphorous, actually forming a legit clan of Ryoji kin, each born with the ability to combat supernatural forces, and hired by shoguns across japan to fend off and kill any abnormal forces. This reign was supreme until one day, a rival clan of the Ryoji’s known as the black widow clan, was also a clan of ninjas who specialized in demonic killing. The difference is that they actually practiced dark chi magic and dark Hadou along with various demon blessed weaponry to fight them off. This created an imbalance, as they would intake demonic souls into their own, simply to fight against what they were becoming. The Ryoji’s had strong spiritual ties with Hachiman, and by their gods orders, they decided that this was a heavy injustice, and thus began a war between clans, that spanned time and time again. Mitsuyoshi Ryoji fought along side his father Taka for years until he was 21, when suddenly Hachiman intervened, and put Mitsuyoshi to sleep, preserving his body for the ages, stating that at least one Ryoji would be needed to thwart a coming evil, but it wouldn’t be during this coming age and era. Mitsuyoshi was taught to beilive in the gods, and as such pur his trust in Hachiman, and took this slumber. Since then the war continued, and the inevitable winners were the Black Widow clan, corrupting the souls of Mitsuyoshi’s family and destroying their clan for what they were worth, once again the result of being alone is a Ryoji’s usual destiny. 10 years later, Mistuyoshi awoke from his slumber only to find his clan slaughtered and everyone he loved, including his wife, had passed. Mitsuyoshi was devastated…a broken man who did not understand why what happened to him had happened. Hachiman explained that he alone was needed for the future of the lands of japan, and Mitsuyoshi was resentful. He vowed that he would avenge his family, but not because of corrupt purpose put upon him by a god, but for the sake of doing what’s right. Defying the destiny laid out before him, Mitsuyoshi traveled to the tattered remains of his clan home, and took up his father’s sword, the Fang of Wind, taken right from the tooth of the Wind God, Fujin. Using this blade, he raided the Black Widow clan, all 1,000 men with the aid of a godly weapon, destroying them all in cold and battered blood. When he came down to the clan head, it was a man by the name of Taka..Ryoji. His own father. Mitsuyomi was enraged, furious that this had even taken place at his father’s hand, and he asked him why, why had be destroyed their home, their kin, their family, their people! Taka revealed that it was all in order to gain access to the realm of dark Hadou, yomi. Yes Yomi, the land where the demons spawn from and have entered our world. Taka revealed that during his son’s 10 year nap, he’d been doing nothing, but planning and plotting a way to gain access into this world, and using the combined powers of the Ryoji clan and the Black Widow clan, he could forge a path to defeat the ultimate evil, and destroy the realm of Yomi. With the power he'd gained, he could open a dimension to Yomi by using the sacrifices of thaousands of men and abosring their hadou to do so. He then revealed that the last step of his plan was to kill Mitsuyoshi, as he was the only one of kin who’s power he handn’t absorbed. Mitsuyoshi was furious! Angered that all of this was in the pursuit of power! Greater purpose or not, he cursed the gods and higher powers for bringing corruption to the planet earth, and reluctantly did battle with his father. The fight was tremendous! Mistuyoshi was severely outmatched, even with his high energy reserves, he couldn’t compete outright with the dark power his father was emitting! His father even went as far as to cloud the sky with dark blood red clouds, with a blackened sky, unleashing a wave of energy that traveled all the way into china, forming a long rock formation that spanned the entire country with a deep fissure of energy! Mitsuyoshi was on his last leg, and didn’t have much other option. He didn’t beg, but rather spite the god Hachiman to give him the power he needed to defeat his father. Hachiman knowing that this is how events were meant to play out, would temporarily grant Mitsuyoshi his own sowrd, the Zen'nō kiryoku. With this godly blade in hand, Mitsuyoshi gained the power to slay his father! Shedding a single tear for the torment he had to face up to this point, but comforting himself as he defied the gods and forged his own fate. Once it was over, Mitsuyoshi unintentionally absorbed the dark essence inside of his father, and took it upon himself…his eyes had a yellow glow to them with specs of green. As they did this, he would take it upon himself to travel into Yomi and do the mission his way, but instead of eradicating it like he’d planed, he’d throw Hachimans sword on the ground and decide to try and rule the world of Yomi. Weather his attempt was successful or not, his history as we know it ended there. 'Into History...' Records of Ryoji Mitsuyoshi, however, do not appear again until 1631, when Seekers of knowledge, by now regarded him as the best swordsman & Demon Hunter from the Ryoji clan, is summarily and inexplicably dismissed by the Shōgun and higher officials of japan, refusing to believe that a single man could influence the world and wasn’t remotely royalty. As such, it was written off as a children’s tale, with the name changed from Ryoji Mitsuyoshi to Jubei Yagyu, legendary ninja who was taught by his father, and changed the world for the better of human kind. Once again, the legacy of the Ryoji’s faded into an unpraised history. The Ten Tigers of Canton 'The Shino-Japanese War' The First Sino-Japanese War (1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895) was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by the Japanese land and naval forces, as well as the loss of the Chinese port of Weihai, the Qing leadership sued for peace in February 1895. The war clearly demonstrated the failure of the Qing dynasty's attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially compared with Japan's successful post-Meiji restoration For the first time, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan; the prestige of the Qing Dynasty, along with the classical tradition in China, suffered a major blow. The humiliating loss of Korea as a vassal state sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Within China, the defeat was a catalyst for a series of political uphevals led by Sun Yat-Sen and Kang Youwei, culminating in the 1911 Revolution. After two centuries, the Japanese policy of seclusion under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by United States intervention in 1854. The years following the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the fall of the Shogunate had seen Japan transform itself from a feudal society into a modern industrial state. The Japanese had sent delegations and students around the world to learn and assimilate western arts and sciences, with the intention of making Japan an equal to the Western powers. Korea continued to try to exclude foreigners, refusing embassies from foreign countries and firing on ships near its shores. At the start of the war, Japan had the benefit of three decades of reform, leaving Korea backward and vulnerable. 'The Ten Lights of China' The ten lights of china, were originally created during the Japanese/ Chinese war, which was around the time of the end of the samurai era, stepping into the era of guns and what not. As primitive as they were with gunpowder and whatnot, they were growing and evolving. The Japanese were ruthless, and with their advances in growing war fair, all was looking bleak for the country of japan and it’s people. Though there was one individual who felt differently about the entire ordeal. More accurately there were ten. Ten Ryoji brothers: Wong Yan-Ryoji, Wong Ching-Ryoji, So Hak-Ryoji, Wong Kei-Ryoji, Lai Yan-Ryoji, Soo-Ryoji, Leung Ryoji, Chan Cheung-Ryoji, Taam Chai-Ryoji, and Chow Tai Ryoji. These brothers were born to a wondering salesman and martial arts master artist. While the origin of Ryoji’s were ninjutsu, they can easily adapt and accel at whatever they honestly wanted to, a trait they shared. This salesman fell in love with a Chinese shop keep, but the secret of this man was that he was Japanese. The tension between nations was at an all-time high so to know that this man was from enemy territory was already a crime, but to birth children made it even worse. He taught the children while they were young, teaching and conditioning their bodies to preform advanced martial combat from a young age. This ranged from deep meditative techniques, and with Chinese kenpo, chi control was second nature, achieving feats like crushing stone with the tips of their noses at the age of 6. Their father however made them promise to never show their capabilities outside of their family home. He understood some of the hidden history’s behind Ryoji’s, and that once they show their true capacity, power struggles tend to arise, as if a sort of karma. The children tookt his to hear, so By the time they’d all hit their respective ages, over eighteen, they were all functioning members of society. Some went off to school, so pursued the martial arts and some went off to live normal lives. However it was at this time the Japanese instead of respected warring, started to become more so bullies than anything. The eldest Ryoji brother, Wong Kei-Ryoji, suffered a god awful lust in a spite raid bombing of a Chinese dinner. Inside of this carnage were his wife and new born child. Scrambling in the chaos to try and save them, he was stopped and over taken by a band of Japanese samurai’s, leaving his wife and child to die a terrible death. He later found the remains of their bodies in the fire and buried them in the mountains, forever honroing their memory. It was then, that Wong decided that he was done hiding in the shadows. Forsaking his father’s words for a higher calling, he banded his brothers together, as they shared in his sorrow, and decided to take a stand against their Japanese opesseers! 'The Legend Ascends!' They did just that! Over the course of five years, The land of china had what seemed like an omnipotent protector, as the Ten Lights of china almost seemed to be everywhere at once. They became a nearly unstoppable force, driving out and detecting local Japanese opressers and key japanaese politicals that were using corruption to steal and launder money from the Chinese people. Night after night, week after week, they would assault military Japanese bases with the most brilliant and tactical cunning war startigies at the time, using methods of bombing, stealth bombing, all out assault and invasions, and even using combined chi technqiues to iraddicate entire areas of Japanese In a clean sweep. The myths say that their chi together, could level mountain ranges, and scribe new lands it was so potent between the ten of them. Their legend was wold and their reign was supreme for years, eventually driving the majority of Japanese forces out of the country’s populatin, but this of course attracted the attention of high Japanese officials. They wanted these ten men dealt with and executed, but the problem was that they’d hidden their identies so well, they were nearly impossible to keep track of. All they needed was one, and so the top fighter in the Japanese army, Koetsuji Miamoto, would use his own brilliant mind to predict the ten lights next target base, purposely uplifting the strong hold and making it seem impenetrable. Playing on the confidence of the brothers success rate, and drawing them in. The brothers unknowingly fell for the trap, and were ambushed by an army of Japanese men, seemingly endless! They fought the night away, but the numbers were adding up. The Japanese had the technical advantage, and had even went as far as to discover chi resistant materials and minerals/herbs to supresss the mystical energy, dwindling the brothers strength, but not by much! Their high marital prowess and inhuman physique, allowed them to fight on until a retreat was made!....all but one. The Japanese succeeded, as the coup was only to obtain one of the brothers and use him as bait, and they did just that. Capturing the youngest, Chow Tai Ryoji, they tortured, beat, and destroyed him from the inside out. Holding him hostage, demanding that the Ten Lights comply to showing their identities to the world and turning themselves in. Wong Kei-Ryoji was filled with guilt, over putting his brothers into this life style. As such, he decided to formulate one last plan with his brothers in arms. 'The Final Stand' They turned themselves in and relinquished their identities. They were taken to the capital of china, Bejin, for their public execution. What better way to go, than in the biggest area of china. As the brothers were lined up in the firing line ready to be executed, their biggest plan came to fruition! Just as the Japanese men were ordered to pull their triggers and fire at the men, their guns backfired, and exploded in their faces! The Japanese commander, Koetsuji was outraged! He’d arranged for 100’s of men to shoot the brothers, at once, but how could 100’s of men kill themselves in an instant!?! Rigged guns. The brothers were in captivity for 10 years before they were to be executed. As part of their tourture, they were to clean and maintain Japanese guns over the course of time, but the brothers decided to sabotage them over time. Why wouldn’t the Japanese have noticed this? Simple. For every ten guns they maintained, and produced, they’d hide five and rig them to back fire. The brothers worked so fast however, that they could cover their tracks and still produce the nessecary amount of guns that they needed to pass production. The day before their execution, they’d paid off other pisioners to help them swap each and every single gunman’s gun, with a fualty one in the dead of night. A brilliant plan that worked to their favor! As the guns backfired, the brothers would break free! Launching one last personal vendetta gainst the Japanese! They fought til their last breath, but each brother slowly and swiftly fell one by one, each taking life after life before their death like honorable warriors The last one remaning was Wong Kei-Ryoji. A man who’d lost what he’d loved, and found a cause to fight again. one his last leg. He wouldn’t go out without taking everyone in this god damn base with him, as such he’d reveal under his clothing, a series of gun power packets, laced with enough to take out a tower! But the kicker was that he’d clap his hands together, flourishing his body with a bright blue chi before letting it exlode, combusting the gunpower and creating a large column of blue explosive light! It was in that moment he took note only the largest Japanese base in China, but the lives of countless Japanese men with him! this explosion created a crator so deep, as time moved on it became known as the Qinghai Lake, the biggest lake in china. The Ten Lights were legendary, but besides their names, little was known about them, only their acts. Eventually as time passed on, their tale was reworded and mxed up by many, often playing the final explosion as an act of god rather than man, until aurthors looking for ideas of tales to tale, rewrote them as “The Ten Tigers of Canton” a famous folk story amount Chinese men who oppressed the Japanese government. The Light didn’t end there however. If anything that light grew stronger, as the tale continues with the sone of Wong Kei-Ryoji or more famously known as Wong Kei-ying would have a child with a woman, and have birthed the second most prominent folk tale and legend of the Chinese people: Wong Fei Hung. Wong Fei Hung: Folk Tale of The Century Years after the legend of the Ten Tigers had died off into the history books, as legend and awe, the son of the leader, Wong Kei Ryoji, was growing up with a single mother, and a lot of time upon his hands. Wong Fei Ryoji was born on Mount Xiqiao, Foshan, Guangdong in the reign of the Daoguang Emperor in the late Qing Dynasty. At the age of five, he started learning Hung Gar from his mother, Cheng Sao Ryoji, and reading upon on the scrolls his father used to often write, as he aspired to be a great martial scholar, and was willing to pass the dream down to his son. From the age of 5- 13, he learnt the essentials of the Iron Wire Fist and sling from Lam Fuk-sing, a student of "Iron Bridge Three" Leung Kwan, after meeting Lam in Douzhixiang during a martial arts street performance. He learnt the Shadowless Kick from Sung Fai-tong later. He’d not stopped there however, as every master that taught him took notice that he was able to learn their styles in mere weeks , where as it took grandmasters years to master the in’s and outs of the style itself! Wong Fei Ryoji, started to gain a reputation as he continued, but instead of learning multiple arts, he took the ones he’d mastered, and further emphasized on them mastering them to the fullest of fullness. He’d also had a long time rival, who also saught out to master his martial form by the name of Hao Yunjia. He and how grew up since they were 13 together, and stunned the world of china by storm with their amazing talent for the arts! However as they began to hit the tender ages of 17, Hao had gotten into some legal trouble, and was going to leave Foshan for a while to travel with his parents around china, and learn more about life. Wong wished his friend the best, and continued his journey but in a different route. Wong eventually began to study human anatomy and actupuncture, and with the aid of his mother, opened up a medical clinic where he’d admistiner message therapy and medical treatment. This also aided Wong, as he learned about the human body, and reminiscing on his father’s teachings of the universal energy of chi, thus understanding the three components that even allow one to tap into it; Mind, Body, and Spirit. Using his anatomy knowledge, he was able to grasp this meaning quickly to obtain chi notable to that of a Hadou Master, at such a young age, he c ould seemingly make the impossible possible, but he was a humble man. He did not prefer to fight for show, but he contradicted himself with acts of making fools of evil doers and trouble makers, often handling them with finesse and style. His fighting skill for a while was being constantly tested by many across china. Even westerners with their own boxing and martial variants, would travel to china just to experience Wong’s martial arts skills, and like the rest, he’d humor them with a combat exchange, only offering to be serious for about 30 seconds. For his opponents these were the most embarrassing 30 seconds of their lives, as they’d all fall to the advanced combat of one man. It even came to a point, where waves of men from different martial practice would seem like utter rookies in his presence. Wong had become world renown, for temporarily being one of the greatest unarmed combatants to hit the world. What was even more amazing was his ability to learn anything. Any style, technique, even applied to chi. Many of his opponents would try to trick him with alteration chi, elements, brute strength and calculative tactics. Wong not only dispatched of them, but using very little chi to do so, relying on his own intelligence and physical capability. A true Ryoji trait, to use a little of something for a big difference. 'Trouble In Paradise' Then came trouble in paradise. Locals are concerned with the growing influence and presence of Westerners and foreigners in Foshan. General Liu Yongfu of the Black Flag Army approaches Wong Fei-Ryoji and requests that the latter help him muster and train a militia to assist in defending the town. Wong was reluctant, as he wasn’t one to be tied up in military affairs, preferring a life of peace more than anything, but he was swayed, willing to do it for the good of his country. Among those recruited by Wong are the butcher Porky Wing and an American-educated Chinese called Bucktooth So. Eventually Wong meets Siu-kwan, who is around the same age as him, and whom he addresses respectfully as "M’lady". They develop romantic feelings for each other but their relationship is often restrained as her father being chief of police wanted her to marry someone rich, and wealthy, rather than a lowly medicine man.During a few months of training the men, everything was going according to plan. Leung Foon arrives in town with an opera troupe to stage performances. He runs into some trouble with the Shaho Gang, which terrorizes local businesses by demanding "protection money" from them. He accidentally runs into Siu and falls in love with her. After being fired from the team, Leung meets a martial artist called "Iron Vest" Yim and becomes the latter's student. Yim wants to make his name and establish a martial arts school in Foshan, but he knows that he must first defeat Wong, the best fighter in town. He initially challenged, Wong formally, but Wong refused. Claiming the only fighting he wished to do now adays was for his country, and with that he turned him down. Meanwhile, the Shaho Gang sets fire to Wong's clinic Po-chi-lam as a warning after Wong refused the foreigners challenge, deeming him a coward, and a Chinese man with no pride. The gangsters later seek shelter under the Americans from the Sino-Pacific Company after the governor issued orders for their arrests. In return for protection from the authorities, the thugs aid foreigners in human trafficking by kidnapping local women to be sold to distant lands as prostitutes. The Shaho Gang's boss meets Yim and agrees to help him if the latter allies with his gang and the Americans as long as they could help him get a fight with Wong. They also had a plan to get under Wong’s skin and force him to the challenge since the fire attempt still wasn’t enough to get him to cave. 'Plot In The Making' The Shaho Gang abduct Siu while she is assisting an escaped labourer from America to avoid the local government's inspection. Anticipating Wong would come after her, they tied her up and beat her repeatedly, just to make sure Wong got the message they weren’t playing around. Wong caught wind of this from the towns, folk, and grew irritated. He’d only faught for sport, but today was going to be different. He gathred the most fit combatants in town and was beginning to plan for the retrival. When they were making their move, they’d came into contact with the enemy, and engaged them in combat! Wong took many of them out on his own, but his gang assisted him as much as they could, and for a second it seemed as if they’d had the upper hand, but a snitch in his followers ratted him out, and next thing he knew, he and his followers are thrown into prison for fighting with soldiers sent by the authorities while buying time for Siu and the labourer to flee. The guards release Wong and his companions out of respect for Wong’s will to fight for a purpose, and not just to prove he was stronger than everyone. Just then, Bucktooth So reports to Wong that Siu has been captured by the Shaho Gang. Wong and his men disguise themselves and infiltrate the Americans' base and defeat the foreigners and gangsters after a battle. Wong told the men to go and alert Chinese authroity’s, while Wong took on the men single handedly. After defeating wave after wave of men, Wong faces Yim in a man-on-man fight. Yim proves to be a match for Wong, more so than what he’d original thought! The men were even both physical and spiritually, light Hadou vss dark Hadou in a clash of what could only be described as blue and red energy flashes thoughout the room! Wong gains the upper hand, utilizing his mastery over the chi palm, or the modern day pusshu Bakufu, to consistently attack his opponent. However Yim, having mastered the Satsui No Hadou Kussei, a level of ascended chi usage began to dominate Wong for all of his worth! Leveing half of the 30 storie building with his power! Wong was on the breaking point of his ability, not used to being outmatched or outskilled. However a Ryoji’s mind is his greatest weapon! Wong would break down the properties of his technqiues, deducing all they truly did was cut and perice with a dark mystic energy. It was then Wong tapped into his own inner chi reserves, to utilize a special techqniue known as the muteki no ken, to counter Yim completely! After a hard fought clash, Wong defeated Yim in combat, coming out as the dominant fighter. However the Americans were angered by this and therefore Yim is killed by gunfire from the Americans, who were actually targeting Wong. Wong and his companions dealt with the americans on their territory and eventually succeed in rescuing siu and the kidnapped women, and Wong kills the American leader Jackson by hurling an unused bullet into the latter's forehead with his fingers. The human trafficking came to end, stopping and preventing one of the biggest human trafficking rings in the world at that time on his home turf and soil. This uplifted the sprit of Chinese folk everywhere, but it also captured the attention of two of it’s rivals: America and Japan. Wong would live a prospherous life, continuing his studies in his clinic, and teaching martial arts, but no longer for war efforts. This time for physical therapy. His good friend Hao Yunjia returned as well having straightend up and agreed to help friend start a school for the martial arts in Foshan, turning the town back into a propsherity of martial arts schools. Years later, at an old age, Wong would retire, and eventually die of natural causes. The first Ryoji to succeed in living his life peacefully for the rest of his days. 'Move Along' Hao took it upon himself to continue his practices even with his hold age, and uphold the dojo. He’d started the Jinwu Association, which is now known for being the worlds biggest Chinese martial arts association. Wong never had any children sadly, and his legacy was thought to be lost. The tale of Wong Fei Ryoji, was praised for a long time, but America took hold of it’s cultural influences, and made a movie about it starting jet li, but instead of “Ryoji” the changed the last name to “Hong” to fit the Chinese standard name, and made four movies off of this tale, dumbing it down to believable concepts. After A while Hao began to become a pro at teaching, and one day was approached by a mysterious child who saught to join the martial arts school. He had no family name, or even a memory of who he was and where he was from. All he had was a note that read "for the future" and on the back of said note was the 3 tome symbol for Hachiman shinto god of war. Hao recognized this and didn't take it as coincidence, and immidately began to tutor the boy in the best of ways he knew how to. The Boy's name was Chen Ryoji, the only thing the boy came to remember over time as being his name. This boy was special, and out of all the Ryoji's so far, his impact would not only be remembered, but last a much longer spanning generation. Chen Zhen: Fist of Legend 'Dojo Orphen' Chen Ryoji, the name of the mystery child who attened the dojo of hao yunjia, at the Jin Woo Association, which had grown tramatically since it’s start up years ago. Hao was reaching very high in age, but he hadn’t lost a step, only being sub par below what his dear friend Wong was, and fighting for his legacy, and passing his techniques on every day. However after reciving the note, Hao exclusively trained Chen Zhen, even though he did not understand what for. It turns out the boy was a high spirited one full of pride and tenacity. He was confident, and had many views on life, that some don’t gain insight on until later in their elder years. Hao refered to the child as having an “Old Soul” one wiser beyond his years. As Hao raised the child he trained in specifically in the martial arts that were taught to him and Wong, Hun Gar and Wushu. Only a 6 year old child with an IQ standing at 200, Chen wanted more. He learned the ins and outs of the style but practiced them for so long, and during sparing matches, he would win some and lose some, but he’d always lose because of an opponents superior style or physique. Even with his technique there were so many martial arts avalible out there, that he felt being limited to just two was Ludacris. He wanted something with flexibility, something with structure but open to innovation. Keeping these thoughts to himself, Chen would often run off and seek out other marital arts masters, offering to teach them something in exchange for them teaching him something. Chen leanred various martial arts, from five style fist, tai chi, drunken boxing, but none of them were combat savy enough for him. by the age of 16 Chen then met a man by the name of Ip Creed, but most called him Yip-Man. Rumor had it his mother named him, but he took after his father’s last name most of the time. Chen noticed that out of all the schools in Foshan, he did not have one, but there was talk and rumor about his skill level surpassing that of his own masters! Chen didn’t take lightly to this news and challenged the old man!...and lost terribly. As Chen Would stand up from his defeat he would declare that he would train every day until he could beat t his man. The man laughed and shook his head. “Come every day if you wish. The result will be the same.” And that’s just what Chen did. For an entire month, every day at the same time, 7 days a week, he’d show up at Ip Man’s dojo challenging him to a fight and loosing each time. However, Ip Man during the final day of the month would interrupt the spar and make a notion. He’d noticed that over the course of a month, Chen had begun fighting just like him. It wasn’t enough to defeat him, but he did notice sublte things he’d taken from his style of fighting. Ip Man would make Chen an offer. Since he’d already been stealing tid bits of his style, Ip decided to offer Chen full time teachings, to teach him the syle of Wing Chun. Chen agreed but figured there was a catch. As such Ip man told Chen if he could retrieve an eagles father from the east forest, he’d teach him all he wanted to know about wing chun. Chen agreed, and went in search of the feather. 'Journey Forward' Chen Told Hao what he was doing, and hao was proud of him for wanting to follow his own way. As such, Chen set off, a kid on an adventure, to find the feather in the forest. This should’ve been an easy operation, but what he didn’t know is that the animals in that particular forest were rumored to be monstrous and feral. And the rumors were right. Upon entering the forest, Chen encountered giant white apes, that had an errie glow to them, a red steaming mist coming from their bodies. Chen had never been introduced to chi, didn’t even know it exsisted, but he would soon find out once the apes attacked him! Chen managed to hold his own against the beast! Fleeing, ducking dodging, and sneak attacking them when he could, exposing vital pressure points, and using their weight against him. it took him hours on end, but he’d finally subdued the apes, which was an accomplishment seeing as how he was much smaller than a 9 foot tall white ape. Chen was exhausted, but that was just the beginning. Though his entire ordeal he’d faced giant snakes, bears, insects, having to deal with them all forcing himself to adapt, and learning to manipulate chi off pure adrenaline rather than focused manipulation. This journey was 3 days of survival, and combat with the elements. It was however being this in tune with his surroundins, that Chen like other Ryoji’s before him came to understand his spiritual center, thus gaining his chi manipulative abilities rather quickly. He’d unlocked the physiology of Ryoji’s at such a young age, a feat not seen in any other of his ancesters. Chen finally found an egale, all be it a much larger one than usual, but instead of demanding it’s feather in combat, the egale bowed before him, and graciously allowed him to take one of his feathers. Chen had gained a sense of empathy with the creature, as it sensed that even with his brutish actions, At heart Chen was pure and well spirited. Chen mounted the eagle and rode him from the forest back to Foshan! When he returned it’d had actually been 2 weeks, but it felt like three days. Chen walked into Ip Man’s dojo and held up the feather. Ip Man would laugh a bit and shake his head. Agreeing to teach Chen Wing chun the right way. Chen studied under Ip Man for years. Until he was 17. By this time Chen had bid farewell to master ip, and farewell to hao as well, wanting to pursue an education and make a living. 'Avenger...' Now 18 years of age, Chen Ryoji was attending class in Kyoto University when some Japanese karate students from the Black Dragon Clan burst in and attempt to force him out because he is Chinese/japanese. Mitsuko Yamada, one of Chen's female classmates who has a crush on him, along with Chen's professor and other students, speak up for him. The thugs turn violent but Chen easily defeats them using a variety of controlled Chin Na techniques only employed with one hand, and the occasional hard one hitter quitter. 81921647.gif FistOfLegend-04-400-sg.gif FistOfLegend-02-400-sg.gif FistOfLegend-03-400-sg.gif FistOfLegend-05-400-sg.gif FistOfLegend-06-400-sg.gif FistOfLegend-08-400-sg.gif The Japanese thugs' sensei, Funakochi Fumio, who is also Mitsuko's uncle, arrives to take control of the situation and apologizes for his students' behavior. Fumio is impressed by Chen's skill and converses with him, and Chen learns that his master Huo Yuanjia has died after losing in a match against a Japanese martial artist. Chen is distraught after hearing the bad news and he leaves for Shanghai immediately. Chen returns to Jingwu School and sees that his old friend — his master's second best student Huo Ting'en— has become the new master of the school. The next day, Chen goes to the Japanese dojo to challenge Ryoichi Akutagawa the Japanese fighter who allegedly defeated Huo Yuanjia. Akutagawa's students attempt to force Chen out with violence, but Chen defeats them all with ease claiming their katare had poetential but was the equivalent of a donkey who could properly kick. FistOfLegend-13-400-sg.gif fst-jet-li-o.gif Kung_Fu_Hustle__001.gif kung-fu-hustle-o.gif kung-fu-hustle-o-00.gif The True Enemy Akutagawa arrives on the scene and honorably accepts Chen's challenge. Chen defeats Akutagawa easily and concludes that Akutagawa is not capable of defeating his master, after which he suspects foul play in Huo Yuanjia's death. Chen has Huo's corpse exhumed for an autopsy against the wishes of Huo Ting'en and Jingwu's members, going as far as to dig up his old masters grave with his bare hands. The coroner reveals that Huo Yuanjia was poisoned and weakened before his match against Akutagawa. Over the next few days, word of Chen's victory against Akutagawa spreads and Chen becomes a local celebrity in Shanghai. Jingwu's students begin to look up to Chen as their new instructor, which incurs the jealousy of Huo Ting'en. Huo remains silent and seeks comfort in a brothel, where he becomes romantically involved with a prostitute Rose. Meanwhile, Akutagawa confronts General Gō Fujita of the Imperial Japanese Army after realizing that his match result with Huo Yuanjia was pre-meditated by Fujita, which he considers dishonorable. Go, was rutheless, and had a history of being able to eat powerful opponents and absorb their skills for some reason, a trait only seen in Onihouruda…After a heated argument, Fujita kills Akutagawa brutally in front of the shocked Japanese ambassador, but places the blame for this on Chen Zhen. Akutagawa's enraged students attack Jingwu School, culminating in a fight, that is eventually stopped by the local police. Chen is arrested and placed on trial for allegedly murdering Akutagawa. Several "witnesses" provide false and conflicting accounts of the murder, but the court refuses to accept testimony from any Chinese defense witnesses on the grounds of "bias" towards Chen. Mitsuko arrives and testifies that Chen is innocent because he spent the night with her, and the court accepts her false testimony because she is a Japanese. Chen is exonerated, but his apparent relationship with Mitsuko ruins his reputation, as the Chinese view it as an act of treachery. Huo Ting'en and the senior Jingwu members demand that Chen either leave Mitsuko or leave the school, and Huo uses the opportunity to settle his personal vendetta against Chen by challenging Chen to a fight. Their fight was expected to be grand and it was! Martial combat at it’s fullest, but what disappointed Chen was that Huo was an expert at chi, yet his second best student lacked heavily in that department, leading chen to not only embarrass him, but toy with him to the bitter end. Defeating him after a quick demonstration of just how powerful he realy was. Chen defeats Huo eventually with much reluctance but chooses to leave with Mitsuko. Huo Ting'en is humiliated by his defeat and gives up his position as master of Jingwu before leaving to join his lover. Jingwu's members eventually discover Huo's relationship with her and reprimand him. Huo learns his lesson and returns to Jingwu. giphy 8.gif Jet-li-fist-of-legend-o.gif njg2Ao7.gif Chen and Mitsuko faces hostility from the locals and are forced to find accommodation in an abandoned hut near Huo Yuanjia's grave. At the same time, Fumio arrives from Japan as requested by Fujita, to get rid of Chen. Fumio engages Chen in a fair martial arts contest, which Fumio wins. Chen shocked that someone could actually defeat him, even after giving his all, Chen asked what the mans secret was. The man claimed that he’d unlocked a chi potential higher than that of mortal means, known to few as the power of nothingness. Chen’s chi mastery was grand, and even the collision of their very fist was enough to case fissurs in the ground which could make a stream, but Fumio’s basis and mastery far exceeded the young Chen. jet-lee-4-o.gif tumblr_mevp3c85bA1rodauuo1_400.gif tumblr_lkfopuWKem1qbqayg.gif For The Fate of the School Fumio leaves after warning Chen about Fujita's ill intentions and killing abilities and informs Chen, that Fujita is an Onihourda, one who has been devouring other oni’s to empower himself for literal years. Chen began to question as to weather or not he was even ready for such a threat. As such he took some weeks off to meditate, and did just that for 3 weeks straight. Gathering and turning his body into a literaly sponge of chi, that had spirutally ascended and put him on a higher plateu than he previously was. Days later, Huo Ting'en visits Chen and apologizes for his earlier behavior, saying that Jingwu School will accept Chen and Mitsuko's relationship now. Huo teaches Chen the Mizong Fist that night while Mitsuko leaves secretly, leaving behind a message for Chen that she will wait for him in Japan. The next day, Chen and Huo Ting'en confront Fujita at his dojo, where Fujita exposes a traitor from Jingwu, who played a role in Huo Yuanjia's death, and shoots him in order to atone for pre-meditating Huo's death and then devours him whole. Huo Ting'en then fights Fujita, who appears to be incredibly strong and resilient, and Huo suffers grave injuries. Fujit’s demonic essence nearly burned Huo to a crisp, as each time he attempted to attack fujita, the heat would stun him and for some reason he couldn’t even sneak up on the guy. Chen engages Fujita himself in a long and exhausting fight. The fight was back and forth for the lognest time, fist raised and chi’s roared. Chen actually matching Fujita, until he’d transformed into some form of being where his skin had become browned, and his hair ha dbecome orange. His chi was thick with evil and murderous intent, and his body muscle looked like it was about to explode. Chen stood in the face of danger, and even against a foe who’s chi kept growing, he continued to fight on! To the very end! Eventually Chen began to wear his opponent down, realizing that just because his energy was limitless does not mean his physical body is limitless as well. That is whe Chen awaked a power he’d never though possible: Kenetic energy manipulation! Chen was eating blows and dishing them back out! The battle destroyed the dojo in the process, and leveled mountains with valliant shockwaves! Chen finally ending the chaos with a well timed flying kick, knocked the literal head off of Fujita, and ended the fight after a day’s worth of battle. Armed Japanese soldiers then surround them and prepare to open fire. The Japanese ambassador (who is a pacifist against Japanese militarism) arrives and orders the soldiers to stand down. He agrees with Chen's actions as he has been aware that Fujita is a madman, but also warns them that the Japanese government will use Fujita's death as an excuse to start a war with China, unless the Chinese can account for Fujita's death by executing the murderer. Chen expresses his willingness to accept the blame for Fujita's death in order to prevent war, earning the ambassador's further admiration. Instead of ordering Chen's death, the ambassador stages a fake execution and substitutes the dead Jingwu's traitor's body for Chen's, while Chen escapes and leaves Shanghai secretly. The story however did not end there, as this was not the last of Chen Ryoji. Not boy a long shot. The Return of Chen Zhen: The Eternal Fist 'The Second Sino-Japanese War (World War I)' The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945), called so after the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from 1937 to 1941. China fought Japan, with some economic help from Germany (see Sino-German cooperation until 1941), the Soviet Union (see Soviet Volunteer Group) and the United States (see American Volunteer Group). After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War. The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the 20th century. It also made up more than 50% of the casualties in the Pacific War if the 1937–1941 period is taken into account. The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements, so-called "incidents". In 1931, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by Japan's Kwantung Army followed the Mukden Incident. The last of these incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, marking the beginning of total war between the two countries. 'Draft Day' Having faked his death and started a new life Chen, at the ripe age of 22 years old, was a single man, who enjoyed the life of leisure. He kept his teachings to himself for a year, until he to decided to open up a martial arts school in a different part of china. In this new erea, it was all about guns and massive weapons of destruction, and none truly cared about the martial arts anymore. He still made a living however, preforming martial arts demosntrations at ceremony’s street fighting, while holding back of course, and became frequent gambler. However war was on the horizon and with America recurting the Chinese as an ally after the pearl harbor incident, Chen was drafted into the war. He was against it at first, but then decided that the pride of his people outweighed his selfish want to remain hidden thus he relecutenly joined. Chen joins a group of Chinese men who help the Allies fight the Germans in France during World War I. Chen detested the war, and did his best to avoid killing whoever he could, but war does change a man sometimes for the worst. Chen took it all instride and one day on a frontier mission to supply the americans and the French with weapons, carried by bands of Chinese men, Chen’s friend Qi Tianyuan accompanied his squad. The american’s and the French were being pushed back and cornered, right in the middle of key fortress in the war. If the allies didn’t take this fort, the tide of the war would turn in the japaneses favor, and the stakes would be eve more so worse that what they are! As the mission progressed, Qi was killed in action! This made Chen angry after the adventures they’d put in in their year of service. He always carried Qi and never let him quit, and for him to die infront of him made Chen snap! He refused to hold back, and single handledly turned the entire battle around himself! Showing his Ryoji lineage, scoruing the field and taking down men left and right with his superior physique! Something that hadn’t been seen in years, and only heard of by people who’d only beilive it if they were there to see it! b6031ad105884858cb826f61e5760b14.gif Dat scene doe.gif Agility 20.gif Agility .gif Combat 3.gif Combat 4.gif Combat 5.gif 'Return To China, New Lease On Life' Chen returns to China after the war and takes on the identity of Qi Tianyuan, a fellow comrade who was killed in action. Deciding to take up a new name, and try this starting over gig again, not wanting to be known as a hero. Back in Shanghai, Chen joins an underground resistance movement to stop the Empire of Japan from invading China, feeling a strong sense of obligation to avenge his friend Qi. He befriends Liu Yutian, the owner of a nightclub frequented by foreign dignitaries. He becomes attracted to Kiki, a nightclub singer who is actually a Japanese undercover agent. One night, Chen discovers that the Japanese are planning to assassinate General Zeng, the son of a northern warlord, and push the blame to General Zhuo, a rival warlord. Zeng's death will spark off a civil war between the two warlords and aid the subsequent Japanese invasion. Chen is immediately all over this and takes the law into his own hands, becoming something of a vigilante, like his ancesters. He dawns a black outfit, with a mask and hat, and confronts the assialents himself! Not letting them accomplish their mission, Chen defeats them all then and there, stoping the operation, but causing more trouble than it was worth. It was there however he ran into a man, who had a strong dark presence. Chen hadn’t felt something this strong in quite a while. Chi was becoming somewhat of a dying thing at this point in age, seeing as how technology had advanced so much. He’d often see a shilouette of a man following him dressed in what looked to be a black ninja suit or something of the sort. His aura was strong but whenever chen approached him, he’d disappear. Chen decided to let it go, but the presence lingered on his mind. combat 9.gif 'A Game of Chess' With the operation failed, Tokyo sends a name list of anti-Japanese activists to Colonel Chikaraishi Takeshi, the leader of the Japanese secret agency in Shanghai, ordering him to kill the people on the list. The list contained important figure heads to the Chinese culture as a whole and big time polictical figures from America AND france. Chikaraishi leaks out the list, causing panic among the populace, and pays a visit to the nightclub. Chikaraishi is aware of Chen's true identity after tracing his name back to records of a man that didn’t look like him. he even discovered that his actual last name was “Ryoji” and then forgoing the lessons and legends he’d been told as a child he came to realize just who Chen actually was. Knowing this he challenges Chen to save the people on the list. Chen and Chikaraishi engage in a race of time to save and assassinate the activists respectively. Eventually, Chikaraishi's younger brother leads a team of killers to murder the editor of the Shanghai Times. Chen fails to save him on time and sees his friend die before him, after which he takes vengeance on the murderers, bludgeoning their skulls with no form of mercy what so ever and killing them with his kenetic abilities making it look all to easy. Combat 10.gif In the meantime, Chen figures out that Kiki is a spy and warns her to leave. Chikaraishi starts to distrust Kiki and forces her to kill General Zeng's girlfriend, one of her close friends. The blame is pushed to General Zhuo and the angered General Zeng attacks Zhuo with support from Japanese forces. One night, the Japanese corner Chen on the street and bring him to their headquarters to torture him. Concurrently, Chen's friends stage a raid on the Japanese headquarters and cause serious damage with explosives before fleeing the scene. The Japanese track down Chen's comrades and murder them in revenge later. Chen is thrown out of a car in front of the nightclub and remains in coma for days while he recovers from his injuries. Feeling the utter defeat and betrayal of a love lost, comrades lost, and leanring that revenge only begots revenge. 'When Everyones Lost, The Batle Is Won' With the Japanese invasion underway and General Zhuo killed in action with his forces in full retreat, there seems to be nothing that the resistance can do to prevent the Japanese from occupying Shanghai. Chikaraishi sends Kiki to challenge Chen Zhen to a fight. She also pleads to Chen for her to accept her love once again, but Chen refuses. He then shrugs off his injuries and heads to face Cikarashi. He is first ambushed by the men in the dojo, all fighters with the ancient usage and teachings of chi, flourishing though their veins. Chen was impressed that the men had such prestigious training and was honored to kick all of their asses. All of them putting themselves in an enhance condition, so much so the battle took place in only seconds, but to the combatants it felt like hours had passed by! Chen combated each man at once, and took them all out systematically! Leaving no man to stand left before his might, as he crushed them all beneath his vengeful and righteous fist! Combat 11.gif Combat 12.gif Chen defeats all the combatants, after which he faces Chikaraishi in a one-on-one bout. The two fought in martial combat for a while with Chen seemingly taking the victory after a hard fought battle. Combat 13.gif Chikarashi reveals a secret. He’s been accepting power from an ever present and dark force, dressed in mysterious wears. After hearing about just who Chen ryoji was and what he could do, seeing it for himself he decided that to face the supernatural, he himself would have to become supernatural as well! Thus he ascended from his mortal form, and turned into a massive creature of pure dark hadou! His skin darkened, and his hair became a hellish red. His eyes were crimson and each breathe he took was that of steam! Chen felt fear for the first time in his life, but knew that it was here and now that the could either be the change he wanted to see in the world, or become a stalagmite, still in history. Chen decided to give it everything he had! Luring chikarashi out of the city, and into a desolate mountain wasteland for the two to do battle! Their powers collided, transcending their boundaries and as their fist collided, valleys were created deep in the mountain gorges! Something right out of an anime as they countered each other blow for blow, and each sustained a different injury! Even with his kinetic manipulation, Chen faced a great difficulty with this opponent, their chi alignments canceling each other out i.e light and dark. 72 hours later, the two had traversed into an underground cavern where thy continued their fight until the bitter end of things! Both exhausted and running out of energy, they continued to fight one another, pitting their exsistences on the line for their causes! Combat 14.gif Combat 15.gif Combat 16.gif Chen however proved that the pain he’d felt, and the oppression of his people had gone far to long,and paved his fate as the winner with his fist! Defeating Chikarashi, Chen suffered great and unhealable injuries. He lived out the rest of his life as a cripple, keeping his knowledge of what he could do and pass on. However as time passed, there was no need for martial artist except for show and for prophet. That being said, Chen faded into history, and eventually died. His legacy supposedly ended, but what people disregarded was his time in the war. While in there, he’d been required to give sperm sample. Those who could testify for his physical ability and hype, decided to let the military reproduce his seed to see if brilliance could come from them as well. 'Life Goes On..' From then on out in the history books the name “ryoji” was never written or permantly inscribed. However the acts of valor and courage carried on through the ages, of single men and women who did glorious and self sacrificing things for the greater good of their area. Such as pearl harbor, where even though from a distance it seemed the Japanese merely bombed an American base out of spite, it was actualy Danzo Ryoji who lead the charge. Catching wind of an American ship i.e pearl harbor, smuggling a deadly toxin over seas, and using the jets to fly it out to various areas of the country to inntiate chemical warfare. The general leading the ship was crooked, and voted to take matters into his own hands, planning to unleash a new age black plague. Danzo took charge, and destroyed the ship, while being viewed as an act of terrorisim, he died with the sole purpose of knowing his actions were for the greater good. Or the dreadful act known as 911, where terriost bombed the twin towers. A man by the name of Shun Ryoji had something to do with this, but not as to what you’d exepect. The truth behind nine eleven that you won’t find in any history book, is that the Arabian terrorist had already infiltrated the heart of new York city months before the event, and had employed themselves inside of the world trade center. Studying the in’s and outs of the building to know just where to plant bombs and where to set up key points to kill as many innocents as they could. Being a valliant Marine, Shun refused to let the bombs set off any earlier, than what they would’ve, and decided to crash land the plan into the twin towers. By doing this, the man on the plane who’d had the detonater, would die and not be able to launch the bombs, which would’ve destroyed new York city as whole. An act of terrorisim which covered up one true act of valor. Ryoji’s became “Unsusng Heroes’ never reciving credit or proper repsects for t heir accomplisments in their respective fields. When World War three was upon the world, America needed weaponry. Calling forth to their allies, a select team of scientist, from every country, one weapons designer stood out from the rest of the crowd, and became an object of attention world wide for a long time. A humble scientist, by the name of Ochigi Ryoji. Category:Ryoji Family Category:Information